Tag: subscription boxes

I was completely stumped on what to do for this month’s 10 things. I have some ideas I’m working on for future 10 things, but wanted to reach out and see what you guys, my readers, wanted to know about me. I popped an open request up on my facebook page and got some great suggestions including this one from Alicia of EightBitBlonde to do a geeky post that ties in with Thanksgiving. As a Brit I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, however, I have a lot of US readers so in the spirit of celebrating Thanksgiving this months 10 Things is dedicated to 10 Geeky thinks that I’m Thankful for.

[bctt tweet=”As a Brit I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but in the spirit of celebrating Thanksgiving this months 10 Things is dedicated to 10 Geeky thinks that I’m Thankful for.” username=”justgeekingby”]

I previously wrote about 5 fandoms I’m thankful for in a 5 Fandom Friday prompt so this time I’m doing things a little bit differently. I’m going to talk about 10 geeky things in a more abstract way – keep reading to find out what I mean!

World Building

One of the greatest things that everything geeky has given to me is world building. As a young girl I started with stories created from my imagination, stories fuelled from worlds and characters I read in books. As a teenager exploring the internet for the first time I stumbled upon the world of role playing and from there my interest in world building grew even further. Every tv show, movie, book and video game is set in it’s own universe that has been created by people. A world built from imagination and the possibilities are endless and it’s given us films like Star Wars, to the cheese-fests like Sharknado. There’s so many elements to it too and I started off with this one because I touch on more of them in other sections of this post.

[bctt tweet=” As a teenager exploring the internet for the first time I stumbled upon the world of role playing and from there my interest in world building grew even further. ” username=”justgeekingby”]

Escapism

[bctt tweet=” I could lose myself in the endless words and worlds of books, and it helped me to stay strong, to work through what was happening in the real world. ” username=”justgeekingby”]

The geek world isn’t just about escapism to me, I want to make that clear first, but it certainly is part of it’s charm. Growing up I was bullied a lot and the geeky world gave me a way to escape my tormentors, as well as helping me find myself. I could lose myself in the endless words and worlds of books, and it helped me to stay strong, to work through what was happening in the real world. As I got older and new problems replaced the bullying my geeky interests and pursuits continued to be there for me to offer solace when I needed to relax and remind myself that my every day life isn’t just filled with pain.

[bctt tweet=”As I got older and new problems replaced the bullying my geeky interests continued to be there for me to offer solace when I needed to remind me that my every day life isn’t just filled with pain.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Identity & Belonging

A little while ago Hannah of A London Geek wrote about being a Fangirl and not being ashamed, it’s a great post that you should all check out and Hannah really hits the nail on the head with what it feels like to be embrace your geek community. I don’t remember when exactly I realised I was a geek; I was always different, I never fit in and I was instinctively attracted to geeky things. As I got older I embraced the term geek (or nerd, personally I’ve always preferred the term geek for some reason although I accept either!) and it was an important part of piecing together my own identity. I suddenly wasn’t just a weirdo, the odd one out, I was a part of a group of people who saw the world differently and shared my passions.

[bctt tweet=” I don’t remember when exactly I realised I was a geek; I was always different, I never fit in and I was instinctively attracted to geeky things.” username=”justgeekingby”]

A few days ago my post as a part of The Games that Define Us collaboration went live and in it I talk about how I became a gamer. It was a very cathartic post, and until I put my story down on paper I hadn’t even realised just how much that one game had effected my life, and that is just one element of my geeky world. Every part of my geeky interests and pursuits from this blog, to the games I play and the books I adore are what make me who I am.

[bctt tweet=”A few days ago my post as a part of The Games that Define Us collaboration went live. In it I talk about how I became a gamer and I realise how much that one game had effected my life.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Friendly Communities

The geek community isn’t all sunshine and rainbows – just ask any geeky woman – which is why this section is specifically called ‘friendly’ communities. I have been in many communities over the years that have I thought were friendly and I later realised in hindsight were toxic, however, I’m not going to dwell on those as this is about what I’m thankful for and not losing myself in the past. I make a point of mentioning them because I think it’s important to recognise the toxicity that does exist in the geek community rather than pushing it under the carpet – and in doing so it makes me even more grateful for the friendly communities I have now found and the friendships that have grown from them.

You may have heard or even used the term ‘geeking out’ before, and for me being a geek is a community thing. While I can entertain myself with my own thoughts and theories about a plot or character, at the end of the day I get the most joy from being able to talk about it with someone. My relationship with my fiancé Chris is filled with geeky moments. We are a couple that games and geeks out together, and I love that. I love that we have a room in our house dedicated to geeky things and that we agreed to decorate in a geeky way. I love seeing a tweet on twitter from a friend as they discover my favourite book or show for the first time, and their excitement as they enter that new world of wonder and magic. And I love the endless creativity and adventures of my fellow geek bloggers.

Being a geek is 100 times more fun with friends.

[bctt tweet=”While I can entertain myself with my own thoughts and theories about a plot or character, at the end of the day I get the most joy from being able to talk about it with someone.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Collectables

I’ve always been a collector; keyrings, badges, postcards. I still have them from when I was a kid. The internet has brought many wonders including online shopping and that’s just made it even easier to access geeky items, especially now there’s subscription boxes like Lootcrate and Geek Box. There are now so many things to collect and sites like etsy and redbubble, just to name a few, mean that we can also buy things created by other fans. Art and items created with the love, joy and attention to detail that comes from someone who feels the same way you do about a fandom. It doesn’t matter how old or obscure a fandom is there is something out there for everyone or there will be. Just the other day one of my favourite authors, Tamora Pierce, announced the first official line of merchandise for her books despite her writing for decades.

[bctt tweet=”I’ve always been a collector; keyrings, badges, postcards. I still have them from when I was a kid. The internet has brought many wonders including easier access to geeky items!” username=”justgeekingby”]

Geeky Fashion

You may have noticed that I love geeky fashion 😉 I’ve never been a big fashion person, style has never been top of my list and I tend to rock my own unique style that is a hybrid of geeky, boho, rock and a bit of goth thrown in. I’m very much a jeans and t-shirt girl so I love accessories to add some flare to my outfits. So it’s always been really important to me to have geeky fashion items that help me show my identify, my style to the world. I rarely like or care for the current trends – I’m the type of girl who walks into a woman’s fashion store, takes a look around at the ghastly ‘in season’ colours and walks right back out the door. However, I am a Libra and that means I do like to look good. Growing up in the 90s and 00s there wasn’t much geeky fashion at all; you could order from Hot Topic in the US but the prices were high and you had to deal with shipping prices. That was all we had back then. So what I am incredibly grateful for now is the wider range of online stores catering to women’s geeky fashion.

[bctt tweet=”I’m very much a jeans/t-shirt girl so I love to add some geeky flare to my outfits. So it’s always been really important to me to have items that help me show my identify, my style to the world.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Spin Offs

Oh no, she said the evil ‘spin off’ term! Don’t panic; hear me out. Spin offs, adaptations, accompanying material, whatever you want to call it. I’m not just talking about TV shows that spin off from an original show or books being adapted into movies; I’m also referring to book and comics that are written in the same universe as a movie or a game. My favourite and most beloved example being the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now referred to as Legends since the Disney canon reboot). I am the sort of fan that literally gobbles everything I can get my hands on. I don’t care if the movie is dodgy, or if the book is badly written. If there is one then I want to see it/read it. I still watch/read stand-alone movies and books but things that are part of a series and a much wider universe are so much more special to me. I think that is what appeals to me about the Star Wars EU, the Warcraft Universe and DC Comics Universe; there are so many characters and stories to be told. It’s why I was sad to see the Star Wars reboot happen, and also excited for the new canon because to me it’s just more stories that get to be told.

[bctt tweet=”I am the sort of fan that literally gobbles everything I can get my hands on. I don’t care if it’s dodgy, or badly written. If there is something then I want to see it/read it.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Fansites

As I touched upon in world building every universe of a fandom has so many aspects and this has led to the creation of various virtual fan creations since the creation of the internet. Everyone has their favourite ways of consuming this content and one of those ways for me is fansites. There are so many different formats that a fan can show their love for a subject; news site, guides, shrines, cliques, fanlistings, website listing, online rpg, and more. I’ve been involved or ran my own versions of several of those over the years and I know the joy that it brings to be a part of that larger community online. I also love seeing the way in which people express themselves and their love for the subject and/or the community through their site.

[bctt tweet=”There are so many different formats that a fan can show their love for a subject and I know the joy that it brings to be a part of that larger community online.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Fan Art

Fan art is the other big way I consume fan creations online whether it be digital art or traditional, and I am just so grateful that there are so many talented individuals out there that take the time to create such gorgeous work and share it with the world. I know there are some artists who have been treated badly and no longer share their work, and that breaks my heart but I can understand why they feel that way. I’ve always felt a special connection to art, always been drawn to it and to see someone capture the emotions of a character, relationship or scene accurately has always been very moving to me.

[bctt tweet=”I’ve always felt a special connection to art, always been drawn to it and to see someone capture the emotions of a character, relationship or scene accurately has always been very moving to me.” username=”justgeekingby”]

This wonderful piece of art was commissioned by Chris, my fiancé, from our wonderful friend and talented artist Jen Pattison. You can read my interview with Jen right here!

Inspiration

The one theme that I think ties all these points together for me is this one; inspiration. It isn’t just from the geeky world, or what it represents, it’s how it inspires me and others to be ourselves and to grow as people. As I was writing this I realised that I was representing just one type of geek; a fandom geek, a fan girl. I’m a bookworm, a Star Wars nerd, a comic book geek. But that’s not the only type of geek out there and that is amazing. The geeky world inspires people to be different, to be who they really are and to reach for the unknown. It can be what inspires them to go into careers in tech or science, to educate and support the next generation, or to share their passions by creating new worlds and universes for people to enjoy and explore.

[bctt tweet=”The geeky world inspires people to be different, to be who they really are & to reach for the unknown. It can be what inspires them to go into careers in tech or science, to educate and support the next generation.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Being a geek is amazing and inspirational, and I am thankful for it teaching me that anything is possible.

Over to You

I hope that this gave you a bit more of an insight into me and what being a geek and the geeky world means to me. What about you? Is there an identity or community that you’re thankful for?

[bctt tweet=”Being a geek is amazing and inspirational, and I am thankful for it teaching me that anything is possible.” username=”justgeekingby”]

Is it the geeky world or something else?

If you’re a fellow geek did anything in this entry strike a chord? Do you have any insights of your own to add?

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Let me know in the comments and if you’re in the US I hope you’re having a wonderful Thanksgiving! Got a suggestion for another 10 Things? Pop it in the comments too 🙂

It’s my birthday in a week (9th October!) and for once I’ve actually remembered to do a birthday related post! I decided to start out simple and give you guys a glimpse of what is on my birthday wish list. Being an October baby I pretty much spend most of the year planning for my birthday and Christmas, and then rinse and repeat again the next year. Our anniversary is also in October so I can’t even use that as an excuse for some goodies either! It does mean that by the time October rolls around I have a solid idea of what I want and any impulse buys have long lost their luster.

1. Blog Domain Name

It is finally time to move this blog to it’s own domain! It’s a big step with lots of SEO bits and bobs (and probably a massive headache), but it needs to be done and to be honest, I want it done! I wouldn’t say I’ve been putting it off, but rather it just didn’t feel like the right time before. Now the blog feels much more grounded and it’s grown into what I wanted it to be. It’s time 🙂

2. Iphone Camera Lens Kit

Ideally a new camera would be great, however, the next step for me would be a dslr camera which I don’t actually know how to use properly! Chris has one and he’s happy to let me use it and, more importantly, teach me how to use it. So there is little point in me investing in a camera right now. I do have my own camera but it’s so outdated that my iphone actually gives me far better quality photos so I’ve been investing in equipment for that. My first was this fantastic tripod which has been so valuable. I can use it as a “selfie” stick or I can use it as a tripod – and it’s got bendy legs so I can put it at weird angles for photos or wrap it around anything. This lens kit would give me everything I really want from a dslr camera without having to pay for one and without needing to learn all the technical settings, which I have to admit my ME brain fogged mind is struggling with. There are more expensive options but I’d prefer to try a cheaper option and see how it works and then upgrade at a later date.

3. L’Oreal Smooth Sugar Scrub

As I reported in my last Sample Shoutout I received a sample of this and absolutely fell in love it. It has been the only product I’ve ever found to help me with one of my beauty problems so getting hold of a full sized tub of the Nourish Cocoa Face And Lip Scrub has been a priority since I tried it!

4. Calligraphy Pens

Last Christmas I got a huge haul of bullet journal goodies from The Works and they were all great! I got a small calligraphy pen set and while I haven’t really been using it for calligraphy per say I have swapped to writing with them. The problem is that I want to use all the inks and all the colours and I have just one pen. The set had three nibs and just one pen. So this time I’m upping my game and eyeing up this Sheaffer Calligraphy set which comes with three pens not just the nibs. This means I can have multiple inks on the go without having to swap nibs or worry about them drying out. I still have plenty of ink cartridges left, however, the pack was not well balanced in colours so I’m also going to get a pack of cartridges by the Manuscript Pen Company Creative. They’ve had great reviews and have some nifty colours that my other pack didn’t have!

5. Nail Polishes

My nail polish collection is dying. The only new additions it has had in years have been courtesy of my mother in law who has either bought be colours that aren’t my cup of tea or the same colour of turquoise in about 5 different shades (I’m not joking). The problem is that I don’t really have the money to go on a full on nail polish shopping spree – especially not if I get everything else on this list. So I’ve had to think about it and I’ve come up with a few solutions; nail polish subscription boxes such as the two pictured above (Mani and Lola and MeeBox), a decent nail polish advent calendar this year (I’ve yet to decide on which one), buy an advent calendar from a previous year for a discounted price (such as this Technic Advent Calendar) and buy some gift sets or bulk sets of nail polish (such as this Rimmel London nail polish set). There’s also Primark and a few of the pound shops/discount shops that have started doing their own Beauty lines which are getting some great reviews so I’m going to check those out too. Hopefully by the end of that I should have a good start to a collection again!

6. Washi Tape

Yep, I am a Washi Tape addict and my small meagre collection just doesn’t cut it any more. The time has come to invest in some more beautiful sets such as this gorgeous Starry Sky Washi tape set from 812 Journal. I much prefer to get sets like this at this stage so that I can build up a decent collection and then I can add individual tapes later on.

7. Mantaray Purse

I’m not really a big purse fan, or someone who buys them a lot – bags on the other hand I am really bad with especially when I’m on holiday. I don’t tend to find bags in my style until I go abroad to Europe or visit markets over here and then I want to buy them ALL. But purses I have a hard time finding one I like and so when I finally found a brand I liked I stuck with it. I think this will be my third Mantaray purse now and I literally wear them to death; my current one is falling to pieces. What I love about them is that they’re actually embroidered so you get that real texture feel rather than a plastically feel like some purses/wallets, and it’s just the right size for what I want. And Mantaray as a brand fits with my boho nature loving style too, and I just fell in love with the colours and design of this embroidered Hummingbird purse by them. I usually get my watches by them as well, and while I really need a new watch too my purse is literally falling apart and thus makes this list!

8. Wet Brush Hair Brushes

I’ve slowly been upgrading my beauty supplies, moving from cheaper versions to more professional and higher quality alternatives. So far I’ve upgraded my tweezers and my nail files and now it’s time for my hair brushes. I’ve been eyeing up the brand Wet Brushes for a while, and although I like their standard brush I think I’m actually going to go with these two instead. One is their Flex Dry Hair Brush which is designed to help you dry your hair as you brush it. I use two hair brushes; my usual hair brush and then an older one for when I’ve had a shower. My hair is so thick that if I use my normal hair brush to brush through my hair when it’s wet I just soak my brush. This wonderful invention though helps your hair dry as you use it and as I air dry my hair that makes it super useful for me! I’m also going to get their Shine Hair Brush as my normal brush as it has boar bristles and is a bit bigger than their standard brush – great for someone with long thick hair like mine!

9. DVDs or NowTV Subscription

We are so behind on films, that there’s a lot of movie DVDs on my wish list – but as I’m also so behind on TV shows I’m weighing up buying the movies on DVD against buying a NowTV subscription for a month. It might be cheaper and easier to do that so I can see all the movies and also get caught up on TV shows at the same time. We’re about fourmovies behind in the Marvel Cinematic universe, I’ve still not seen Solo and there’s loads of other movies like Oceans 8 too. While I’d love to be able to splash out and get them all on DVD it’s just realistically possible and as you can see this is down at #9 on my list so it’s not that high on my priorities either.

10. Beauty Products

Thanks to my big beauty prize win most of my beauty needs are covered for a very long time, however, there’s a few things that are mainly every day restocks that I need. I was sent my first face oil as a product tester and it did wonders for my skin, and sadly, I finished it 🙁 So looking for a new replacement I’m going to try one from Revolution’s new skincare range. Namely their Skin Plumping & Hydrating Solution with 2% Hyaluronic Acid which is very close (if not the same) as the product I was testing just without the brand name and thus the massive price tag. Another product replacement for the same tester panel is B. Brightening Fruit Acid Cleanser. I’m not sure if this is exactly what I’m looking for, however, it’s the closest match I could find so I’m going to give it ago first. I absolutely love Cucumber Cooling Eye Pads for when my eyes are sore and tired and need to stock up on some new ones.

And then the other two products on my list are two new items that are treats for myself that I have been eyeing up for a while now! One is L’Oréal’s Infallible Total Cover Concealer Palette. I was going to go the full hog and get their foundation too, however, I’ve found that BB cream works so much better for me and I’ve also fallen in love with Garnier’s Skin Active BB Cream so there is no point in me getting another foundation I won’t use. I’ve heard great things about the coverage of this range and I want to try it out because my other colour correct palette is beginning to run out.

The other product is ALINICE Hair colouring material which is a form of styling wax but coloured! I’m not quite ready to go the full bleach and dye route yet but I want to play around with some streaks and have some fun so I’m going to get a pot of this in purple. There’s some really mixed reviews and to be honest, I’m not too fussed if the product isn’t great as it’s only £9.99. I just want to see how I look with purple hair and decide if it’s something I want to do one day.

Everything Else

Naturally that’s not everything, not even close 😉

So just in case your curious about what didn’t make the top 10 cut you can view my full wish list here!